A Look Into Histories

A LOOK INTO HISTORY TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY SEVEN

THE SCOTTISH JUNIOR CUP FINAL 1947

The Scottish system of football is basically in three parts, the Professional game, the Junior Game who have their own association and the Amateur Game and all have their own Cups. The Junior game cannot be compared with that status in England. Every year in June the Scottish Junior Football Association play their Cup Final, nowadays at a Professional stadium such as Broadwood in Cumbernauld but there was a time when players enjoyed the spectacle of playing at Hampden Park.

Our Match Programme is one of the oldest in my collection and is in Black and Red but of a flimsy nature and consists only of a front and back cover plus one inside. In fact, it could easily be mistaken for a Pirate copy being of such poor quality but it is genuine and is for the game between Shawfield Juniors and Bo’ness United. On Saturday 7th June 1947 at Hampden Park, Glasgow and priced 3d. The inside two pages have the team line-ups, a short editorial stating that never before has such a tremendous stir been caused by today’s battle and that was true as 56,410 attended ! A new name would be inscribed on the Cup as Shawfield had been in the 1938-39 Final but beaten 2-1 by Rutherglen Glencairn. Bo’ness United were only in their second year of existence so had done really well to reach this final. Although everyone always call it by this shortened way the true name of the town is Borrowstounness and is on the Firth of Forth in the Central Lowlands or West Lothian.

Bo’ness United FC still exist and like so many other clubs, moved to the East of Scotland League in 2018, won it in 2020, discarded Junior status and joined the Lowland league under the jurisdiction of the Scottish Football Association whereas Shawfield who by the way did not play at Shawfield Stadium which was the home of Clyde, played at Rosebery Park in an area that had such vast re-development in the late 50’s and early 60’s found so many residents moving to outer suburbs that the football clubs like Bridgeton Waverley, Parkhead, Strathclyde and Dennistoun Waverley all folded followed by Clyde in the 1980’s not folding but also moving to the suburbs.

The rest of the Programme was taken up with rather comical pen pictures of both sides. The result was a 1-1 draw with Bo’ness United scoring through J McLean and Shawfield by N Fleck described as being once with Maryhill Harp and Flecks flicks are famous ! In the replay in front of 26,251, Shawfield won 2-1 but Bo’ness United went back a year later and beat Irvine Meadow 2-1. Further Junior Cup success came in 1976 v Darvel back at Hampden Park and 1984 v Bailleston at Ibrox Park. Such is the far better relationship than in the past between the Associations, the winners of the Junior Cup such as Darvel in 2024-25 now qualify for the main Scottish Cup and Bo’ness United also enjoyed this privilege as far back as 2009-10.